Ngwii language explained

Ngwii
Nativename:Ngul
States:DRC
Speakers:8,000[1]
Familycolor:Niger-Congo
Fam2:Atlantic–Congo
Fam3:Volta–Congo
Fam4:Benue-Congo
Fam5:Bantoid
Fam6:Southern Bantoid
Fam7:Bantu (Zone B)
Iso3:nlo
Glotto:ngul1247

Ngwii or Ngul is a Bantu language spoken in the Kwilu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Despite having a relatively small speech community, use of the language is prevalent.

Phonology

Ngwii has 37 consonants and 7 vowels:[2]

Consonants

BilabialLabio-dentalLabiovelarAlveolarPost-alveolarPalatalVelarUvular
Plosiveplainpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
prenasalizedpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
Nasalpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Fricativeplainpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
prenasalizedpronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
Affricativeplainpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
prenasalizedpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
Lateralpronounced as /link/
Trillpronounced as /link/

Vowels

!!Front!Central!Back
Highiu
Mid-highɤ
Mid/Mid-lowe [<nowiki/>[[Open-mid front unrounded vowel|ɛ]]]əo [<nowiki/>[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]]]
Lowa

Numerals

Like other Niger-Congo languages, Ngwii has a base ten counting system where numbers after ten use the conjunction "ni" to add another number to reach higher values.

The first 20 numerals in Ngwii are[3]

  1. mo
  2. ipe
  3. isar
  4. ini
  5. itɛan
  6. isom
  7. sjambja
  8. ɲani
  9. ɲa
  10. dzum
  11. dzum ni mo
  12. dzum ni pe
  13. dzum ni sar
  14. dzum ni ni
  15. dzum ni tjan
  16. dzum ni som
  17. dzum ni sjambja
  18. dzum ni ɲani
  19. dzum ni iwaj
  20. dzum na dzum

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ngul . Ethnologue . 20 November 2023.
  2. Pacchiarotti . Sara . Maselli . Lorenzo . Bostoen . Koen . The emergence of interior vowels and heterosyllabic vowel sequences in Ngwi . Papers in Historical Phonology . 2021 . 6 . 4 . 10.2218/pihph.6.2021.6693 . 20 November 2023. free . 1854/LU-8732612 . free .
  3. Web site: Numeral system of the world's languages . 5 October 2023.